To be able to live in and around Bozeman is a privilege, one that many struggles to be able to afford. For the 168 Head Start families residing in Gallatin, Park and Meagher Counties whose annual income is below the poverty level, it is a daily struggle. For these families, the thought of purchasing a Family Membership to the Museum of the Rockies at $85 a year, is not a realistic one. The Museum’s primary focus is on lifelong learning, and with that it recognizes that one of the keys to a child’s success is early learning (pre-kindergarten). Therefore, it felt it was important to create this Free Family Membership Program for Head Start families in our region. The opportunity for these children, and their families to interact and engage in informal learning at such a critical learning stage in their lives.

History of Museum of the Rockies’ Free Head Start Family Membership Program

Museum of the Rockies’ Free Head Start Family Membership Program enhances the underlying core values of the Head Start program itself which are to promote school readiness by enhancing the social and cognitive development of children through the provision of educational, health, nutritional, social and other services to enrolled children and their families.

Impacts of Museum of the Rockies’ Free Head Start Family Membership Program

Since its inception for the 2009-2010 school year, MOR has provided over 1,000 annual memberships to Head Start Families from Gallatin, Park & Meagher counties.

The Program runs from August through June to coincide with the academic school year. It kicks off with the MOR participating in Head Start’s four back to school open houses – two in Bozeman, one in Belgrade and one in Livingston. An annual Family Fun Night is held at the Museum sometime in the spring to coordinate with the Museum’s exhibit schedule.